I climbed in behind her, letting her warmth chase away the coldness that had invaded my body the moment I found my brother asleep in the same bed as Gabriella Moreitti. As soon as I touched her, I felt calmer and ready to face the disaster that Drake had created for himself, and therefore all of us.
She mumbled something in her sleep before blinking her eyes open. “Shane?”
I kissed her shoulder. “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”
Her yawn was adorable and I waited until she cuddled into my chest before I told her what had been happening while she slept. The more I said the tenser she became. Worried for her friend, she started to get up. “I have to get home. She must be devastated.”
“I’ll take you,” I promised, not bothering to avert my eyes as I watched her dress. Her breasts swayed ever so slightly with each movement she made.
“But you have guests.”
“They aren’t here to see me, Harper. In fact, I’m sure it will make them all calmer if I’m not around right now. All I do is pace and that can get irritating after a while.” And Emmie was in no mood to be irritated. I would rather face the flames of Hell than get on her bad side.
When she was finally dressed she pulled her hair into a sloppy bun at the back of her neck and turned to face me. “I wasn’t exactly planning on meeting your family this soon.”
“Are you nervous?”
A small smile tilted her lips. “Were you nervous when I introduced you to Cecil?” I made a sour face and she laughed. “Then you have your answer.”
“There is no need to be nervous of Emmie and Layla. And especially not Jesse. They will love you, baby.” Just as I do…
I kissed her lips and lead her out into the living room.
From the moment I realized I had feelings for Harper, I had told Emmie all about her. She wasn’t surprised when I introduced her to the girl that had captured my heart. Emmie tried to be nice, but she had too much going through her mind to pay much attention to Harper. Layla and Jesse shook her hand, and even welcomed her to the family, but were otherwise stone faced.
As soon as I could, I took Harper home. I didn’t want Harper around the tension and would hate it if she thought that my family didn’t like her.
My girl was right by my side over the next few days. I had to be there for my brother, but Harper was always there for me when I needed her. She was strong, stronger than even I had realized. When everyone else was stressed to the max, she was the calm one. Even Emmie took notice of it and took me aside to let me know that she really liked Harper.
“She’s really sweet, Shane.”
We were standing by the double doors that went to the ICU where Lana had been for the last three days. Behind Emmie was the waiting room where we’d all been camped out since Lana’s emergency surgery to stop the bleeding from her complicated miscarriage. I could see Harper sitting with Layla and Lucy, who’d arrived with Nik and Mia two days ago.
Lucy was still looking upset, worried about her sister. But Harper was talking softly to her and stroking Lucy’s short hair back from her face.
“I know.” I was turned toward Harper, ready to go to her in an instant if she needed me.
She grasped my hand, bringing my focus back to her. “She’s really good for you. Even through all this craziness I can see that.” Emmie sighed and shook her head. “I’ve really put my foot in it with Lana. I’m not even sure why I put all the blame on her. You know I love her. She’s Drake’s other half…”
“Emmie, I think it’s obvious why you are so hard on her.” I leaned back against the wall, trying to get a better glimpse of Harper. Just looking at her calmed my nerves. “Drake has always been the one that needed you most, whether we want to admit it or not. You were acting like a mother bear protecting her cub, and that’s great. But the cub fucked up, sweetheart. And it was no one’s fault but his own.”
“Yeah, I know.”
The lost look in her big green eyes hurt me, and I pulled her close. “It’s going to be okay, Em. Lana will be alright, and you can kiss and make up. She knows how you are. She won’t hold it against you.”
“Don’t let me do this to Harper, Shane.”
I laughed. “Don’t worry. If you say one word that hurts my girl, I’ll be all over your ass about it.” No way was I letting anyone—not even Emmie—hurt Harper in any way.
Chapter 12
Harper
Lana had finally woken up and stayed awake this time.
For three days she was in and out of it, whether it was the meds they were giving her or what, I wasn’t sure. But I was so glad that my friend had finally come back to us.
Everyone was exhausted, both physically and especially emotionally. The doctor had come into the OR waiting room right after Lana had gotten out of surgery and explained to us that Lana had come close to dying. If she hadn’t gotten to the hospital when she had, she would have bled to death for sure. But there had been no complications during surgery, so she was going to make a full recovery.
With Lana now awake, and able to talk, she wasted little time in demanding everyone go home and get some sleep. Layla and Drake had argued, but Lana being Lana, had gotten her way in the end.
After sleeping in a hard plastic chair for the last few days, I was ready for my bed.
Linc and Dallas were on their way out; unlike me, they hadn’t been at the hospital day and night. Dallas hadn’t heard about Lana until the day after it had happened, and Linc had been at work. Figuring Shane would want to spend some time with his family, I called my goodbyes and started for the elevators with my roommates.
“Wait!” Shane called just before the doors closed.
Linc hit the open door button, forcing the elevator to pause and retract the sliding door. I started to step forward to ask Shane what was wrong when he pushed me back inside and hugged me against his side.
“Are you okay?” I demanded, looking up at his pale face and noticing the dark circles under his eyes.
He hadn’t been lying about the pacing thing. He had paced, and paced, and paced some more. Emmie had growled at him to sit down more than a few times. Even during the middle of the night, when we were all trying to catch a nap, he would alternate between pacing and holding me. Where the hell had he gotten the energy to do all that pacing?
“I need to be close to you,” he murmured against my ear so only I could hear.
His warm breath against my ear made me shiver, and I wasn’t feeling quite as tired as I had been just moments before. Biting my lip, I snuggled deeper into his side, relaxing against him as he played with the ends of my hair and the elevator descended.
Dallas, who was always mouthy, had been noticeably quiet the last few times she had come to visit. Even as good as I was feeling being with Shane, I noticed her troubled expression as we rode home together in the back of a taxi. When we got home I asked Shane to go ahead and shower while I talked to my friend.
As soon as my bedroom door closed behind him, I tackled Dallas. “What’s the matter?”
She swallowed hard but didn’t answer as she sat down on the couch, reaching for the remote to the television instead. With Linc in the kitchen fixing a quick dinner, I knew that I couldn’t count on him for back up. So I stood in front of the flat screen, forcing her to meet my gaze. “I’ll stand here for days if I have to, Dallas.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Harp.” Her jaw was tense, her body vibrating with emotions, but her eyes were glazed with tears.
Dallas wasn’t a crier. I don’t think I had ever seen her cry.
“Is it about Drake and Lana?” Dallas and Linc had been at the same party as Drake when he had gotten drunk. She had told me that she didn’t think he’d slept with Gabriella because she had seen things at the party that suggested that Gabriella had already hooked up with someone before the other girl had taken Drake home.